If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.”- Winston Churchill

"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government - lest it come to dominate our lives and interests."
Patrick Henry

WE ARE MILITARY,EX MILITARY,and EVERYDAY AMERICANS WHO TAKE AN OATH TO UPHOLD AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FROM ALL ENEMIES FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC.

WE ARE NOT ANTI GOVERMENT - WE ARE ANTI BAD GOVERMENT.

III

We Are Everywhere.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Long range shooting.

Sorry everyone work is keeping me very busy.A quickie for now.

Anyone who missed the snipers advice.To start out your long range shooting,set up 5 gal bucket fill with water add bright food coloring,set out at 400 or so yards.

Guesstimate range first then measure off.estimating range is very handy skill,yeah I know you got a range finder what if it's busted or lost?

Once you've got 400 down keep moving it out.

In your area of operation,home,neighborhood,homestead start measuring off distances to certain landmarks or reference points.75 yards to mailbox,200 yards to barn,3rd house down is 350 yards etc.A five gal bucket aproximates killzone on a man.

9 comments:

China is correct . A standard killzone for an average human is 18"x 18" (main mass/chest area), which a 5 gallon bucket measures approximately. If you fancy yourself a supreme sniper and decide to go for a head shot, good luck , I think you are a fool .

There will be many occasions where a head shot is available but, for the most part aim for the center mass. A large target is much easier to hit then a small one ."IT' NOT THE SMOKE OR THE NOISE WE MAKE , IT'S THE HITS THAT COUNT! WE WILL HIT!"

In combat we have a rule of thumb, 1 wounded enemy takes 3 out of the fight . 1 wounded man , and 2 more to carry him to safety = 3 guys not shooting at you for those moments and allows you to focus on the rest of the threat.

Pacing off your ranges around your AO is a great way to get an idea of what your ranges will be in that particular area .1 long pace of an average man is approx. 3 feet or 1 yard . I don't recommend trying to get farther then 450 yards to 500 yards with a .223 caliber. It may work but , it's really sketchy at range . If you are using 7.62x39 or 7.62x51 or larger , you probably know your range and it will be much more significant then the .223.

Remember , an 800 yards shot is a LONG WAY , it isn't going to be like in holly wood where the guy shots another in the eye at 1,000 yards . Look through your scope at a man who is standing 800 yards away (8 football fields), he doesn't look very big anymore , does he .

Everything comes into play at long range , humidity makes air heavier , heat and humidity changes your trajectory , wind and if a bee farts on the bullet in travel at 800 to 1,000 yards , it will be off by 3 feet or more .Even the earth's rotation comes into play at that range (see CORIOLIS EFFECT).

If you choose the wonderful round 30.06 , which I adore , a 1,000 yard shot will leave you aiming more then 18 feet above your target as it drops that much at least at that range . .308 is not much better and has actually less punch at that range then the 30.06 has .

In summary , get to know your personal AO(area of operation) , learn how to designate distances by just looking (learn to estimate range by eye) and learn about MOA (minute of angle) on your optics. Here is a link to better understanding MOA;

http://www.snipercountry.com/articles/mildot_moa.asp

I highly recommend U.S.M.C. SCOUT/SNIPER MANUAL , it is available at Amazon.com and is packed full of info I cannot fit in a post .

Ok, I am going to discuss three main issues when taking long distance shots at 800 meters and beyond. WHAT IS THE CORIOLIS EFFECT ?

The Coriolis effect is an apparent deflection of moving objects from a straight path when they are viewed from a rotating frame of reference. In layman's terms, it means that long range fire (artillery shells and sniper rounds) will not appear to fly in a straight line from the shooter to the target because of the rotation of the Earth on its axis. Rather, the round or shell will appear to curve. In actuality, the shot is flying in a straight line but the turn of the Earth moves the target so it will look as if the round or shell is curving. Artillery gunners and snipers are well-trained to compensate for the Coriolis effect by actually not aiming directly at their target, but off to the side so that by the time the bullet makes it to the target distance, it has "curved" to hit the target.

This will only really affect the trajectory when the bullet is in flight for extended periods such as long distance shots.

Wind will affect the bullets' trajectory due to air particles colliding with the bullet in flight, therefore causing it to move off course.

Humidity will cause the air to be less dense. Because drag on an object is related to density of the humid air the object is moving through, there will be less air resistance acting on the bullet.

There are tons of other things that can complicate a very long distance shot. My advice to anyone not trained in how to compensate for these things , is to keep your shots down to a range you are comfortable with.

After all ,the only thing that matters is that the enemy is dead and you are not . If you compromise yourself by missing a shot , you could very well have sealed you own fate.

I hope this helps and GOOD JOB CHINA , with the ranging your AO advice ! Wise words from an obviously wise man !

Ok , since the videos you posted , which were absolutely wonderful, have brought to mind some new ideas that I want to pass on . I will post as I think of different things .

Long range shooting, why do it ? What are the benefits to having the ability to make a shot that spans 10 football fields ?

Two of the main roles a sniper will find himself playing are;S.T.A.-Surveillance and Target Acquisition.& Forward Observation and reconnaissance.Both of these provide a crucial role on the battlefield .

Forward observation and recon provide intelligence on enemy movements and activities, fortifications of said enemy as well as a general headcount of enemy forces.

S.T.A. provides long range covert weapon support for friendly forces in an AO as well as tagging and bagging critical enemy personnel .

What defense does a sniper have ?

CAMOUFLAGEDISTANCE

That is IT folks! That is the only defense you have as a sniper , if you compromise your position , you are most likely done . Never fire more then 1 shot in a single position!Shoot and move to a new location.

Keep the enemy far away from you as most assault rifles cannot reach you and stay hidden in plain sight. THE ONLY THING THAT DEFEATS CAMOUFLAGE IS MOVEMENT.

Your role as sniper is critical in providing information and support to forward operating friendly forces. You can eliminate threatening hostile troops which gives your guys a much better chance at securing their objective, whatever that may be.

A sniper also has another critical job , that is to harass the enemy into submission and eliminate officers. A single sniper team (2 men/women) can effectively shut down travel routes and supply line of the enemy force. By eliminating officers and high ranking enlisted troops, you will take away the command aspect and leave enemy troops to fend for themselves.

I wanted to stress one important aspect of long range anti personnel shooting :

Know when to hold em . If you find yourself in a position that you are completely unfamiliar with, such as too much wind , rain or snowy conditions or the ever possible "OOps , I missed those guys and now they are at my flank". Simply DO NOT TAKE THE SHOT!! Hide away and live to snipe another day.

You will need to make a choice, "CAN I MAKE THIS SHOT AND LIVE TO GO ON AND MAKE ANOTHER?" or "If I miss this shot , will it compromise my fellow friendlies?" . You may find many other questions that come up when you are in the shit and heavily outnumbered.

There is a rule of thumb "Do your job BUT, make it back out of the shit" . You will be more valuable alive then dead and if you fuck up once , you have learned a valuable lesson and will probably not make the same mistake again ,therefore making you more of an asset on the next mission.

Unlike most military incursions, we will not have the luxury of calling in air support if we find ourselves in a bad position such as being heavily outnumbered and compromised .

This will be the time that your camo , cover and concealment will serve you well. There is no shame in hiding ! Unless the enemy has dogs with them , you can almost certainly hide away until you find a safe way to ex-filtrate . Remember that we will be in relatively short supply as far as personnel is concerned , we need everyone to stay alive.

If you have trained yourself in the art of long distance shooting , you are valuable to the cause and you must stay alive.

I'll come back tomorrow and post 1 or 2 ideas and explanations for said ideas.(To smoke or Not to smoke, hmmm). This whole blog has me feeling the itch again, THANKS !!!